Our Tuesday nights are totally made, now that the 15th series of The Great British Bake Off is under way. Twelve amateur bakers are hoping to wow judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith with their creative bakes so they can follow in the footsteps of past winnerssuch as Nadiya Hussain and John Whaite in the famous tent.
Here's everything we know about the 2025 Bake Off contestants.
Andy
Age: 44
From: Essex
Job: Car mechanic
Andy’s love of baking started when he was a child when he cooked alongside his mum, making much-loved family staples of apple crumble and Bakewell tarts. He now bakes for his partner Nickie and wants to inspire daughter Maisie to follow in his baking footsteps. When he’s not in the kitchen, Andy plays football, goes to the gym, loves long walks with Nickie, Maisie and their miniature Schnauzer, Arthur, and exploring the country in their motor home.
Christiaan
Age: 33
From: London
Job: Menswear designer
Born in Emmen in the Netherlands, Christiaan studied fashion in Amsterdam before moving to the UK seven years ago. His eye for fashion and design is something he brings to his bakes, as well as his love of gardening – floral scents and citrus notes are among his favourite flavours. Bread is where he finds comfort, reminding him of the age-shaped bakes his mum would make for him and his siblings on their birthdays.
Dylan
Age: 20
From: Buckinghamshire
Job: Retail temp
A keen traveller and skateboarder, Dylan, who travelled through Southeast Asia on his gap year, has a curiosity for culture. Proud of his fusion roots – his mother is Indian and his father Japanese–Belgian – Dylan loves experimenting with sweet and spice in his baking.
Georgie
Age: 34
From: Carmarthenshire
Job: Paediatric nurse
Georgie’s love of food, and particularly of baking, is firmly embedded in her Italian roots and in the days she spent cooking with her Nonna Rosa. The nature-loving forager, who’s a self-proclaimed cannoli connoisseur, takes inspiration from the food growing in the fields, hedgerows and her garden and the discoveries she has made on her travels. Georgie, who has a husband and three children, has a menagerie of animals at their Welsh farmhouse including ten chickens, two ducks, two dogs and a cat.
Gill
Age: 53
From: Lancashire
Job: Senior category manager
Baking has been in Gill’s bones since childhood, with pies, cakes and pastry – including her dad’s signature lemon meringue pie – staples of her childhood. Her sticky toffee Christmas pudding has been a hit at family celebrations for the past five years. Since her father passed away in 2015, Gill has used baking as a source of comfort and has put her skills to good use, raising money for Alzheimer’s charities in his memory.
Hazel
Age: 71
From: Kent
Job: Former nail technician
Family is at the heart of Hazel’s life, who’s been married to her childhood sweetheart for 51 years. They have four children and ten grandchildren. Hazel loves nothing more than to gather everyone together for dinners and parties, and especially loves their get-togethers at Christmas. She’s a dab hand at baking birthday cakes with working parts – she has made several ‘car’ cakes with remote-controlled wheels and working lights, and her granddaughter’s seventh birthday cake was a carousel with 500 edible diamonds that took Hazel two weeks to make!
Illiyin
Age: 31
From: Norfolk
Job: Birth trauma specialist midwife
Born in London as one of eight siblings, Illiyin grew up in Norfolk in a busy household in which she helped her mum to bake, soon becoming the go-to family member for birthday cakes. Living in a community of myriad cultures and nationalities, Illiyin – who is mum to two young children with her Spanish husband – is inspired by the ingredients and flavours of many different cuisines. She loves using Middle Eastern ingredients, such as dried fruits, nuts, honey, rose and mint, in her cakes; while her savoury bakes are typically inspired by the flavours of the Caribbean.
Jeff
Age: 67
From: West Yorkshire
Job: Former university lecturer
New York-born Jeff has made the UK his home for the past 45 years alongside his beloved wife. He began baking when his children were little, having learned the basics from his grandmother and Hungarian great-grandmother when he was a child. As you might hope – and perhaps even expect – he makes a mean New York Cheesecake.
John
Age: 37
From: West Midlands
Job: Directorate support manager
Born and bred in the West Midlands, John has been a hairdresser and an estate agent, but he found his calling working in the NHS. John learned to bake with his nan, making fairy cakes and pies, and now bakes to honour his nan’s memory and pass on the skills she taught him to his two young nephews. He loves classic bakes with a twist, using herbs and other flavourings to give his bakes something different. His favourite bake is a classic lemon tart.
Mike
Age: 29
From: Wiltshire
Job: Farm manager
Mike is a fourth-generation farmer, working on his family farm alongside his parents and sister. An advocate for the LGBTQ+ community within farming, he was an ambassador for the National Farmers Union in 2022 and was shortlisted for Young Farmer of the Year 2024. Mike likes making big, hearty bakes using high-quality local ingredients. He loves using seasonal fruits and edible flowers from his garden and farm and is even making his own wedding cake.
Nelly
Age: 44
From: Dorset
Job: Palliative care assistant
Nelly, who is self-taught, only started baking as an adult when she tried to follow a neighbour’s gingerbread recipe. Her dad loved to bake bread but wasn’t keen on sweet baking. The mum of two – who grew up in Slovakia and lived in Austria – loves adding the flavours of Slovakian cuisine into her bakes, as well as spices representing her husband Chand’s Pakistani heritage, with apple and cinnamon among her favourite ingredients.
Sumayah
Age: 19
From: Lancashire
Job: Dentistry student
Presently on her gap year, Sumayah is a self-taught baker who made a macaron tower for her aunt’s mehndi wedding celebration. The result was a 1m tall tower with 240 macarons in four different flavours, and a cascade of flowers. Sumayah – who’s also a keen sewer and makes her own clothes and an amateur photographer – meticulously researches her creations, combining myriad techniques and recipes to create an eclectic and imaginative fusion of cultures and flavours.
Shereen Low is a Senior News and Entertainment writer for Grazia UK.